The Custom Made News Report 10.14.07
Posted by Ryan Byers on 10.14.2007
WWE fires one jackass and thinks about bringing in a few more, TNA Bound for Glory preview, Kurt Angle perhaps heading back to Japan, what I'm doing for my next birthday party, and much more!
Welcome, one and all, to the Custom Made News Report. I'm Ryan, and, as most of you are reading this, I'm on my way back home after heading up to Chicagoland to watch a wrestling card produced by SHIMMER: Women Athletes. Because of the trip, this column was put together a little bit earlier in the week than it otherwise would have been, so I apologize if I've missed any late-breaking news. On the whole, though, we've got a column filled with some interesting stories and some fine analysis from yours truly, so let's get on with the show.
All the Stuff from Stamford
Teddy Hart Done with WWE
Late in the business day on Thursday, several sources reported that Teddy Hart was released from his WWE developmental contract. Though specifics were not available as of this writing, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the most likely explanation is that Hart rubbed somebody the wrong way, much as he has managed to do throughout his short professional wrestling career.
Teddy Hart
Hart (real name Teddy Annis) is the son of Stu Hart's daughter Georgia and lesser-known Canadian grappler B.J. Annis, though he adopted the Hart name early in his career since it would obviously provide him with a good deal of exposure. He received a shot at a WWF training camp hosted by Dory Funk, Jr. at age eighteen, and he was quickly sent home due to what many described as immature behavior. Of course, Hart was young at the time, and many people chalked his actions up to his age as opposed to a character trait that would last well in to his adult years. Unfortunately, those people were proven wrong. Hart, due to a reckless high flying style uncharacteristic of his family, soon found himself in Ring of Honor. In the main event of an ROH show that took place in 2003, Hart was part of a grueling multi-man cage match during which he and several others took a hellacious beating. After the match, rather than selling the effects of the bout, Hart climbed to the top of the cage and performed a series of backflips down to the canvas. Other members ROH's locker room – including Jim Cornette – considered this highly disrespectful, and Hart's relationship with the company was destroyed. Teddy was also a member of TNA's roster during the promotion's time promoting weekly pay per view events. He put on several impressive matches, including one against Juventud Guerrera that is considered to be one of the better bouts from TNA's early period. However, he quickly found himself on the outs with that company as well, reportedly due in part to an altercation with CM Punk. In fact, the only place in which Teddy Hart seemingly managed not to offend anybody was Wrestling Society X . . . though, to be fair, that promotion taped all of its shows within a three day period. The third-generation wrestler didn't exactly have any time to rub folks the wrong way.
So, now that all is said and done, Teddy Hart has burned bridges in the three largest wrestling promotions in the United States. He's twice been kicked out of the biggest promotion in the world. Needless to say, his future doesn't look too bright. There will always be fly-by-night indy groups who will attempt to make a quick buck off of his name, and he may even be able to dupe WWE or TNA in to giving him yet another shot. However, there is no longer guaranteed big money for Teddy Hart in professional wrestling. He's made his bed, and he's going to have to sleep in it. Though I don't like to wish ill on others, I'm happy to see that in this era of professional athletes with multi-million dollar contracts having criminal charges levied against them and Hollywood starlets repeatedly drinking and driving with seemingly no repercussions, at least somebody somewhere is actually having to face consequences for their unprofessional behavior. Kudos to WWE for doing the right thing and nipping this problem in the bud as opposed to catering to Hart because of his family lineage.
Of course, the people that I feel sorry for in this situation are Harry Smith and Nattie Neidhart. These two are Hart's cousins, they are currently under developmental contracts, and they were reportedly scheduled to form a "New Hart Foundation" with Teddy in WWE. As a matter of fact, permutations of the group were being booked in both of WWE's developmental territories, with the OVW version being a tag team of Hart and Smith managed by Neidhart and the FCW version being a stable consisting of Hart, Smith, their long-time friend TJ Wilson, and third-generation newcomer Ted DiBiase, Jr. One would assume that Hart's departure will result in the angle being scrapped. Though I certainly doubt that WWE will not find other roles for Hart and Smith, the creative process in the company sometimes moves so slowly that this may delay their eventual on-camera debuts by several months. This is unfortunate for fans because, though he's certainly not as polished as a veteran wrestler would be, Harry Smith is already better than 90% of the wrestlers that WWE has brought out of developmental in the last two years and, as such, would be a welcome addition to the roster. Neidhart, as far as women's wrestlers are concerned, is light years ahead of anybody currently on Raw or Smackdown, including veterans like Victoria. She moves very naturally in the ring and could easily put on believable, entertaining matches with smaller men. I sincerely hope that this recent event does not impact their careers negatively in any way.
Jackass Rehash
According to Dave Meltzer over at the Wrestling Observer, WWE is attempting to get cast members from the television program/motion picture series Jackass involved with the Royal Rumble pay per view. Many fans will recall that the Jackasses were originally scheduled to make an appearance at Summerslam, with both promotional posters and television advertisements hyping the angle being released. Ultimately, the appearance was cancelled due to Jackass head honcho Johnny Knoxville's reaction to the Benoit murder-suicide.
There were varying reports as to what exactly the original angle was supposed to entail. There was a general consensus that it would involve the cast members setting foot in the ring for a sanctioned match and that the match would in some way involve Umaga. However, it seemed unclear whether several of the Jackasses were meant to face off against the big Samoan in a handicap match or whether there would be a series of singles matches pitting the Jackasses against a lineup of opponents that involved Umaga. At the time, I was not a big proponent of the angle, primarily because it created the possibility that one or more of the Jackass cast members would be severely injured thanks to an in-ring mishap. However, if the angle culminates at the Royal Rumble, things could be done in a far more acceptable manner. The planned match (or matches) involving Umaga could be set aside, and the outsiders could be booked in to a simple spot in the Rumble match itself, much like Drew Carey's cameo in 2001. This allows WWE to garner whatever positive publicity they may from being involved with Jackass but eliminates much of the potential for bad press caused by an untrained performer setting foot in to a wrestling ring.
Setting the Record Straight: Tony Atlas
Generally it's my policy not to talk about stories that have already been covered extensively by the site's other news reports. However, I make exceptions from time to time when I have opinions I want to express that I feel are not being voiced by other writers. This week, a story broke in which that was the case. Full details are available elsewhere on the site, but the short version is that WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas was sent to OVW this past week to evaluate the talent, which resulted in him having a confrontation with CM Punk. Punk took offense to a comment Atlas made about how none of the developmental guys would be called up to TV with the level of work that they were producing, and Punk (who is obviously already on TV) asked Atlas if he had any clue who the Punker was. Atlas did not recognize the ECW Champion.
In the wake of this incident, a lot of fans online have been critical of Atlas, and rightfully so. The guy did stick his foot in his mouth and obviously came to developmental without much of a clue about the current WWE product. I have no problem with fans saying that. However, what has really rubbed me the wrong was is a contingent of fans who have taken things a step further, claiming that Atlas is a "never-was" or that CM Punk has already accomplished more in his career than Atlas ever did. Those fans are wrong, and those fans have made themselves look just as ignorant as Tony Atlas appeared to be during his OVW trip . . . if not moreso.
To those fans, let me provide a little bit of a history lesson. Tony Atlas WAS a major star in the wrestling business, whether you want to admit to it or not. In the 1970's, Georgia Championship Wrestling was one of the first wrestling promotions to be broadcast nationally on cable thanks to the programming powerhouse that was WTBS. Due to the national exposure that the promotion received, many of the top stars from the region became top stars across the country. This included Tommy Rich (who was made NWA Champion during this period), and it also included Tony Atlas, who was Rich's tag team partner in a higly successful pairing. From the national exposure that Atlas had on TBS, he was easily able to jump to the World Wrestling Federation. In the early 1980's WWF, Atlas headlined in several major arenas for the promotion, including the Philadelphia Spectrum, the Baltimore Civic Center, and, most notably, Madison Square Garden. Atlas' most high profile MSG bout brought over 20,000 fans to the venerable arena. Though I like CM Punk as a wrestler, the closet you can say that he's ever come to headlining a major wrestling show is his appearance in the Elimination Chamber at last year's December to Dismember show, and that only resulted in 4,800 fans attending the event. Like what he said to Punk or not, Atlas was a major player in the wrestling industry at one point in time, and you cannot deny him his spot in history.
The Word from Dixieland
PPV Preview: TNA Bound for Glory
TNA Bound for Glory
- This is the third Bound for Glory Event.
- Bound for Glory has played host to six different title matches.
- Titles changed hands in four of these six matches.
- The NWA Championship is the title that has changed hands most frequently at Bound for Glory. It changed hands at both previous editions of the event.
- The NWA Championship will no longer be defended on Bound for Glory due to the termination of the relationship between TNA and the National Wrestling Alliance.
- This is the second consecutive year that Bound for Glory will not be held in the TNA Impact Zone.
- This makes Bound for Glory the first monthly TNA PPV to be held outside of the Impact Zone more than once.
Chocolate Reign, Abyss, Rhino, & Raven in a Monster's Ball Match
- This will be the third straight year that the Monster's Ball Match will be featured at Bound for Glory.
- Though it has not been mentioned since the first match took place, the concept behind the original Monster's Ball was that all of the competitors were locked in cages and deprived of food, water, and sunlight before the match.
- Abyss, Rhino, and Raven have all been in prior Monster's Ball matches.
- This is Dustin Rhdoes' Bound for Glory debut.
- Only Abyss has been in both of the two prior Monster's Balls at Bound for Glory.
- Raven's Bound for Glory Record is 0-1.
- Rhino's Bound for Glory Record is 3-1. On the 2005 version of the show, he wrestled and won three separate matches, including the NWA Title.
- In the two years since he joined TNA, Rhino has only won seven PPV matches. Three of those matches were at the 2005 Bound for Glory. As a result, Rhino has one of the worst PPV records in the company.
- Abyss' Bound for Glory Record is 0-2. These two losses both came in Monster's Ball matches. Despite this fact, it was Abyss who requested the Monster's Ball match for this show.
Fight for Your Right (TO PARRRRRRRRTY) Reverse Battle Royale
- This is the second time that the Fight for Your Right Match has occurred.
- The only previous version of the Fight for Your Right Match was on TNA Impact.
- The original Fight for Your Right Match was voted "Worst Match of the Year" in the 2006 year-end awards of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Nobody knows why the hell they've brought back such a stupid concept.
Ten Woman Gauntlet Match to Crown the First TNA Women's Champion
- This will be only the second Bound for Glory match to feature at least one female participant.
- This is the third year in a row that a gauntlet match will be featured on Bound for Glory.
- This will be the first time that Bound for Glory gauntlet match is for a championship.
- None of the ten women in the match have previously wrestled on Bound for Glory.
Tables Match: The Steiner Brothers vs. The Dudley Boys
- This is the first time that table match is being held at Bound for Glory.
- This is the first time that Bound for Glory has featured a traditional, four-man tag team match (as opposed to four corners matches, eight-man tags, etc.) which was not for the NWA Tag Team Titles.
- The Dudley Boys' record at Bound for Glory is 1-0.
- Both Rick and Scott Steiner are making their first appearance at Bound for Glory.
Samoa Joe vs. Christian with Matt Morgan as a Special Enforcer
- This is the third Bound for Glory match to feature a special referee.
- This is the fourth Bound for Glory match which has featured a Canadian wrestler taking on an American wrestler.
- The Canadians have won all four of those matches.
- This is Matt Morgan's first appearance at Bound for Glory.
- Samoa Joe's record at Bound for Glory is 2-0.
- Christian's record at Bound for Glory is 1-0.
Ultimate X Match: LAX vs. Triple X
- This is the sixth time that an Ultimate X Match has been held on a TNA monthly PPV.
- Of the six previous Ultimate X matches, four have been for championships.
- Of those four championship matches, the title switched in all four.
- This is the second time that an Ultimate X Match has been held at Bound for Glory.
- This is the first time that a tag team Ultimate X Match has been held at Bound for Glory.
- LAX's record at Bound for Glory is 1-0.
- This is the first time that XXX has appeared as a unit at Bound for Glory.
- Low Ki's record at Bound for Glory is 0-1.
- Elix Skipper's record at Bound for Glory is 1-0.
Pac-Man Jones & Ron Killings (c) vs. AJ Styles & Travis Tomko for the TNA Tag Team Championship
- This is the first time that the TNA Tag Team Titles have been defended at Bound for Glory.
- This is the first time that a heel versus heel match has occurred at Bound for Glory.
- This is Pac-Man Jones' first appearance at Bound for Glory.
- This is Travis Tomko's first appearance at Bound for Glroy.
- Ron Killings' record at Bound for Glory is 1-1.
- AJ Styles' record at Bound for Glory is 1-1.
- This the third consecutive year that AJ Styles has appeared in a title match at Bound for Glory.
- This is the second consecutive year that AJ Styles has appeared in a Tag Team Title match at Bound for Glory.
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Christopher Daniels for the TNA X Division Championship
- This is the third consecutive year that the X Division Title has been defended at Bound for Glory.
- The X Division Title has changed hands once before at Bound for Glory.
- This is the second time that Christopher Daniels has challenged for the X Division Championship at Bound for Glory.
- This is Jay Lethal's first appearance in a singles match at Bound for Glroy.
- Christopher Daniels' record at Bound for Glory is 0-2.
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Sting for the TNA Championship
- This is the first time that the TNA Championship has been defended at Bound for Glory.
- This is the second time that Sting has challenged for a championship at Bound for Glory.
- This is the first time that a match between a former WCW Champion and a former WWF Champion has been on Bound for Glory.
- This is Kurt Angle's first appearance as a wrestler at Bound for Glory.
- Sting's Bound for Glory record is 1-0.
TNA's Televised Future
TNA President Dixie Carter recently appeared as part of a conference call at which she was supposed to discuss the company, although very little of any substance was said. That wasn't surprising. The most notable comments that Carter made were about TNA's relationship with SpikeTV, which apparently folks within the wrestling company want to see evolve just a little bit further.
Of course, the first thing that Carter did was claim that she was elated that the company finally had two hours worth of programming. She then went on, though, to spew forth a veritable "wish list" of what she would like to see happen in the TNA/SpikeTV relationship. The first item on her list was "alternate forms of programming." Though she didn't make clear what she meant by this comment, several individuals, including Bryan Alvarez at <"http://www.f4wonline.com">F4WOnline.com have taken her to mean that TNA wants to produce a television-quality version of TNA Today. TNA Today is a project that Jeremy Borash has been working on for the company's website for quite some time. It's essentially a brief, magazine-style show that highlights various happenings within the promotion. Though I don't have the time to watch it frequently, the few episodes of TNA Today that I have seen are actually pretty damn awesome. Wrestlers are typically interviewed as a part of the show, and they're given far more of an opportunity to be themselves and develop their personalities than they are on the average episode of Impact. That sort of development that could get fans to care about the wrestlers and emotionally invest themselves in the promotion's angles. At the very least, it couldn't do a worse job of capturing fans' imaginations than the company's current gameplan of copying stories from the late 90's WWF. As such, I fully endorse TNA Today becoming a part of SpikeTV's lineup, so long as Jeremy Borash is allowed to retain control over the production.
The other big statement Carter made was that she and many in TNA wanted to see Impact go head-to-head against Monday Night Raw. This "wish" is ridiculous on two levels. First of all, it may in fact be a death wish. I would be amazed if Raw and Impact could go head to head without Impact getting absolutely slaughtered. This was proven to a certain extent when Raw was recently bumped to Thursday due to a preemption USA, and Impact's rating was slammed down to an 0.6. It will be difficult to pry fans away from a known commodity unless TNA provides something as fresh and as innovative as the nWo angle that shot WCW in to the stratosphere. Thusfar, the promotion has proven completely incapable of doing that, so a head-on collision with Raw is ill-advised. The other problem I have with Carter's statement about direct competition with Raw is that it displays that this company will apparently never be satisfied with what it is given. When they had one hour of Impact, it seemed like the only thing they talked about was how they wouldn't truly be competitive without two hours. Now that they've got two hours, they've started to talk about how they want two hours on Mondays. When you perpetually make these sorts of claims, you're telling potential viewers, "Yeah, we've got this show . . . but it's not nearly as good as it will be at some indeterminate point in the future when we get what we're really after." TNA's efforts should be focused on putting over how great the current product is, not yammering about how great they could be.
Random Video Interlude
For those of you who don't get enough lucha libre in your diets, here's a highlight reel from the fine, fine anniversary show that CMLL hosted in 2006. It features several names frequently discussed in this column, including Mistico, Ultimo Dragon, Mark Jindrak, and "Dark Angel" Sarah Stock.
Foreign Fanatics
Yasuda Makes Attempt on Own Life
In one of the more unfortunate pro wrestling stories in recent memory, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tadao Yasuda reportedly attempted to commit suicide on October 4.
On the morning of October 5, one of Yasuda's friends found him alone in a room, which the wrestler had filled with carbon monoxide. The friend was able to rush him to the hospital, where Yasuda's life was saved. It was discovered during the hospital visit that, in addition to the carbon monoxide, Yasuda had overdosed on sleeping pills. It was well-known among professional wrestling fans that, in recent years, Yasuda had amassed large gambling debts. As a matter of fact, his real life gambling problem was parodied when he worked for comedic wrestling promotion HUSTLE. Many individuals have attempted to draw a connection between those problems and Yasuda's actions last week, though the wrestler himself has yet to issue any sort of statement about what exactly drove him over the edge.
It should be noted that, though Yasuda was a former IWGP Champion, he certainly was not a wrestling superstar in the traditional sense of the word. He was a sumo wrestler for many years and ultimately made the switch to New Japan Pro Wrestling. While in NJPW, he also began to compete in shoot fighting events. At one such event in 2001, he scored a massive upset against more experienced fighter Jerome LeBanner. (This provided to be a fluke, as it was Yasuda's only major MMA victory.) At the same time, NJPW pro wrestler Yuji Nagata, who many fans wanted to become the face of the company, lost a highly publicized shoot fight. Antonio Inoki, who was running NJPW at the time, had long wanted to push a hybrid of MMA and professional wrestling, so the results of those two fights meant that Nagata's stock dropped sharply in Inoki's mind, while Yasuda's rose. Thus, Inoki booked Yasuda to become the IWGP Champion, despite the fact that Nagata was clearly the better professional wrestler by a wide margin. The Yasuda title reign is largely considered a disaster and was aborted after a matter of months.
As far as last week's events are concerned, I'm not a psychologist. However, I am an individual who has had a fair amount of training in and experience with suicide prevention. Though I'm not certain whether the lessons I learned in the United States translate to Japan, which is an entirely different culture, I do know that typically methods of suicide such as asphyxiation and drug overdoses are generally employed by individuals who, on some subconscious level, do not actually want to die. They often represent the classic "cry for help" scenario, whereas those folks who have truly made up their minds about death tend to use means much more certain to achieve their end, such as gunshots or hanging. I say this to perhaps provide some insight to what Yasuda was thinking and not to downplay the seriousness of the situation. Even an individual who decides on using a "less lethal" form of suicide can wind up taking their own life if the help that they subconsciously hope will arrive does not.
Apparently, Yasuda had previously mentioned to the friend who found him that he was going to take his own life. If anybody reading this ever finds themselves in a similar situation, please don't wait until the next morning. Please seek professional assistance immediately.
TNA vs. New Japan?
Interesting news came down this week from New Japan Pro Wrestling, as apparently they will be working closely with TNA in putting on their big January 4, 2008 show at the Tokyo Dome.
Though TNA's level of involvement on the Dome show has not yet been made official, NJPW representatives said at a press conference earlier this week that the company hopes for two things to happen. The first is a defense of the X Division Title. The second is much more important to New Japan. As has been discussed in this column in the past, Brock Lesnar at one point held the most prestigious title in New Japan, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. NJPW had a new belt made to represent the championship just before Lesnar's reign, and it cost them a good deal of money. However, when Lesnar abruptly left the promotion without dropping the strap, he took the belt with him, despite being officially stripped of the championship by New Japan. NJPW went on to crown a new IWGP Champion, while Brock Lesnar began calling himself the IWGP Third Generation Champion and put his belt on the line against Kurt Angle at a show promoted by Antonio Inoki. The legitimate IWGP Title wound up around the waist of Hiroshi Tanahashi, while the Third Generation Championship was won by Angle. (This is the belt that he is regularly seen carrying around on TNA programming.) It is New Japan's hope that, at the Tokyo Dome, a match will be held in which the championships are unified, thus allowing the promotion to reclaim the belt that was wrongfully taken from it.
The burgeoning relationship between TNA and New Japan creates some interesting questions. First of all, as the working agreement between the two companies strengthens, one has to wonder what effect (if any) this will have on TNA stars' ability to work in other Japanese promotions. Wrestlers from the company are currently working in every major promotion in Japan. Travis Tomko is a regular for New Japan and one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions, footage of which was shown on the most recent episode of Impact. Chris Sabin recently had a critically acclaimed tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling, during which he won a junior heavyweight tournament and had a shot at the company's Junior Heavyweight Champion. Scott Steiner made a guest appearance on the same show on which Sabin received that title shot. Phil Atlas and Joe Doering, two trainees of Scott D'Amore, have also performed on AJPW shows under the TNA banner. And, of course, Samoa Joe will be heading to Pro Wrestling NOAH later this month for a crack at the GHC Heavyweight title held by Mitsuhara Misawa. Something like this would have been unheard of in Japan just ten years ago, when the major wrestling companies did not intermingle nearly as much as they do now. However, due to a change in philosophy that seems to have resulted from an overall weakening of the professional wrestling market in Japan, NJPW, AJPW, and NOAH are now far more cooperative than they ever have been. Thus, if any pressure is placed on TNA workers to reduce their AJPW or NOAH dates, my bet would be that it comes directly from TNA as opposed to from New Japan.
Of course, I will do my best to keep everybody updated as new details emerge about TNA's involvement on the big show.
Indy-Sent Headlines
It's Not a Nitro Party, But It's Good Enough
From the "Where are they now?" file: Former WCW Cruiserweight Champion Lenny Lane has opened up a new business venture at WrestlingParties.com. The idea is that, for as little as $200 or as much as $350, Lane will come to your child's birthday party and set up a ring. He then promises that there will be a "demonstration of wrestling moves" and "interaction . . . with Lenny Lane and party attendees." Lane will also provide cakes, ice cream, t-shirts, and photographs with individuals attending the event. Frankly, this may be a stroke of genius. As I mentioned recently in this column, WWE Smackdown is currently the single highest rated prime time network television program among young children, and anybody who has attended a WWE house show in the last couple of years will tell you about the number of kids populating the stands who are decked out in expensive John Cena and Rey Misterio merchandise. In short, kids love pro wrestling, and a large number of them have duped their parents in to pumping a sizeable amount of money in to the pseudo-sport. Lane may have found the perfect way to cash in on this phenomenon.
Of course, part of my approval for this business venture may come from the fact that I've always had a soft spot for Lenny Lane. It seems like every wrestling fan has a job guy or two that they get behind for no apparent reason, and, in WCW in the late 1990's, Lenny Lane was that guy for yours truly. I'm not sure why, but I found his short-lived "AbSolution" schtick on WCW Saturday Night to be hilarious, and I marked out huge for the angle in which he wrestled in Juventud Guerrera's mask, pretending to be Chris Jericho as a part of a nefarious plot hatched by the Lionheart. Of course, no discussion of Lenny Lane would be complete with out noting his time as one half of the West Hollywood Blondes, during which he and Lodi ran wrestling's best ambiguously gay gimmick since Adrian Street. Unfortunately, network pressures caused the characters to be killed off before their time, and the Lenny/Lodi duo was repackaged twice before ultimately vanishing off the face of the planet. To the best of my knowledge, WWE never even sent out feelers to Lane after WCW folded, which was surprising given that he was a competent wrestler who had participated in one of Nitro's most talked about angles in the post-nWo era. Since a longer mainstream wrestling career didn't work out for Lane, I hope that he makes a killing with these parties. If doesn't invite Riki Rachtman, he should be fine.
(Now THAT is an obscure WCW joke only 20 people will get.)
Buy Ricky Morton's Gear . . . and I Don't Mean His Tights
Let's keep the "Where are they now?" trend going, shall we?
For a period of time in late 2005 and early 2006, Ricky Morton wound up in jail for non-payment of child support. This lead to several hilarious jokes being cracked about Robert Gibson bailing him out with a hot tag. It also lead to a campaign at the now-defunct HelpRickyMorton.org, at which several wrestlers banded together to auction off memorabilia to raise the money necessary to spring Morton from the clink. Well, apparently the Rock n' Roll Express member STILL NEEDS MONEY, because an interesting item recently popped up on eBay.
Yes, now you can own the wrist band that Morton was forced to wear during his time in a Tennessee jail. It's available here, with the auction wrapping up on October 19. Frankly, I don't know what to think about this. On one hand, I want to be outraged because it looks like Morton is exploiting and making light of his legal problems for profit. On the other hand, chances are good that he still does owe some back child support. If that's the case, who am I to complain about an effort that might put more money in to his young son's pocket? At the end of the day, though, Morton probably could and should have had the ability to prevent himself from winding up in this situation in the first place, and the fact that he didn't exercise that ability is the truly sad part of the story.
Following Up
Here are a couple of small updates to stories that I have discussed in previous editions of the report:
~ Last week, I mentioned the Florida Championship Wrestling would be playing host to a first-ever match between two female third-generation wrestlers. In the bout, which took place this past Tuesday, Nattie Neidhart defeated Lacey Von Erich. This was also Lacey's in-ring debut.
~ Also, last week I expressed some interest in seeing what the quarter-hour ratings for the two hour debut of TNA Impact were. They are as follows: 1.02, 0.93, 0.97, 1.09, 1.02, 1.03, 1.09 and 1.07. Apparently the horrendous booking of the first hour didn't hurt things too badly, as folks did come back for hour two.
~ More news from the TNA front: The company is attempting to sign Joey Matthews, formerly Joey Mercury of MNM. I wholeheartedly endorse this move and in fact had suggested it two months ago in this very column.
~ Yes, it's another update on ZACH GOWEN IN JAPAN~! For those curious as to why I talk about this so much, it's because I find something perversely entertaining about a one-note gimmick wrestler from the United States apparently being pushed as part of an important top of the card storyline in a major Japanese promotion. Anyway, this past week Gowen and Keiji Muto (The Great Muta) continued their feud with the Voodoo Murderers, which was taken to a whole new level when the VM not only beat them in a tag team match but also stole Gowen's prosthetic leg. If I were booking, you can rest assured that leg would be hanging from a pole for wrestling's first ever "capture the limb" match on AJPW's tour ender.
Feeding Back & Wrapping Up
Before we put things to bed for the week, I first wanted to take the opportunity to address an e-mail from relatively new 411 staffer Chris Lansdell. He had something to say about my response to a reader's e-mail in the 9/30 edition of this column.
Hold the phone. Rhuin's feedback contains the following sentence:
"6. The Briscoes suck. They're like the Dudley Boyz, except not as charismatic."
I cried when I read this. Whether or not the Briscoes suck is a matter of opinion, of course, though the majority of IWC pundits (and 411 authors...) would disagree. But to say they're like the Dudley Boyz, except not as charismatic? Wow. The charisma part I will not argue with. But what makes them like the Dudleys?
The Dudleys started as a comedy act. Briscoes started as a spotfest act.
The Dudleys evolved into hardcore, table-breaking, women-beating ass-kickers. The Briscoes evolved into hard-hitting high fliers with an emphasis on double teams and a reduced feel of spotfestism. (NEW WORD!~)
D-Von and Bubba Ray never did anything noteworthy as singles competitors. Both Mark and Jay have had numerous strong singles showings, and I am positive at least one of them has had a couple of World title shots.
As for similarities, all I can see is that they both started in Philly, they both work a brothers gimmick (although it's not a gimmick for the Briscoes), and they both had main event tag-team title matches on the same card as world title matches, something unheard of in WWE and semi-indie TNA. Am I missing something?
And you agreed with this statement? Unless it was the sucking/less charisma parts...
I'm not a huge fan of the Briscoes, so I was in fact agreeing more with the "suck" comment than I was agreeing with anything related to the Dudley Boys. However, I also see some validity in a comparison between the Briscoes and the Dudleys, although it may not necessarily involve the same similarities that Rhuin sees.
The way I see, both teams gathered a huge following as cult acts in the country's number three promotions (The Dudleys in ECW and the Briscoes in ROH). Both of them developed their cult followings by doing things that they would not be allowed to do in more mainstream promotions. In the case of the Dudleys, those activities involved cutting incredibly profane promos on live audiences and performing "ultraviolent" spots, e.g. using flaming tables. In the case of the Briscoes, those activities currently involve participating in insane, nonsensical spotfests that are far more dangerous than anything WWE or even TNA would allow to happen. I think that if the Briscoes debuted on WWE TV tomorrow and were stripped of the ability to work this style of match, they simply wouldn't be able to succeed in their new environment, much like the Dudleys were fairly useless in the WWF until they figured out how to work a more universally accepted style of tag match.
I actually think that it would be more spot on to compare the Briscoes to the Eliminators if you're going to stack them up side-by-side against an ECW tag team, although there are definitely some parallels to the Dudleys.
And that should do it for this week's installment of the report. For those of you who still need more to read, be sure to check out:
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